Desperate Departure, or Doomed Demise?
by Whisperwill
Summary: OC, very dark. Sequel to "Reprieve?" Soma is a new mother now. While she struggles to shield her newborn son from Orochimaru's darkness, Bi embraces his new world without knowing any fear. Their escape cannot possibly come soon enough. Long one shot. Posted by Wonderstorm.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the unparalleled _Naruto._**

**A/N: Originally completed on 8/15/19 as a birthday present for my two sisters. Sequel to "Reprieve?" We return once again to Soma's world of darkness. How does this installment compare with the first two? My own personal baby experience lends itself to the details of this story. How's about a review or two? Maybe? Please?**

**Rated T for abuse, dark undertones, and mature themes.**

**Desperate Departure, or Doomed Demise?**

How long does it take for babies to tell when is day, and when is night? Soma didn't know. And it didn't matter. It wasn't like the prisoners had a set sleeping schedule...why would they, when their entire lives consisted in darkness and shadow? Everyone slept whenever he liked. Sometimes a noise would wake someone up. In the early months of his life, Soma was quite accustomed to Bi's jerking awake beside her to the sound of a stone falling, a fellow prisoner's loud cough, or a distant scream. The dark-haired prodigy baby would cry, and she would soothe him at her breast. And then they would both fall back into restless, nightmarish sleep.

How long does it take for babies to understand adults' speech? Soma didn't know. But even though Baby Bi was barely three fourths of a year old, he clearly understood the command "Shh." Either that, or he could read his mother's body language like an open book. Many was the time when she was forced to slip her hand over his mouth, urging him to be silent, shuddering herself and cowering in their little corner among the stones, as Lord Orochimaru entered his prisoners' domain. And Bi would be silent. Not that it always helped: if Orochimaru had made his appearance in order to take a prisoner, then that prisoner would be taken-without fail. Sometimes he took Bi. Soma fought like a desperate feral cat in order to keep her son from the snake's clutches, but every time, Orochimaru would either throw her easily to the ground, or enlist the services of Kabuto to physically hold her back. Often the two of them worked together to wrench Bi from her arms, as both mother and son screamed, sobbed, and pled for mercy.

Why? There was no such thing as mercy here. It seemed unfair that there should be such a thing as LIFE here. The fragility of new life was tarnished each time Orochimaru brought the infant back, sometimes wailing, sometimes quiet and twitching strangely, to Soma, who dared even to approach the snake, in order to grab her precious boy back into her arms. The beauty of new life was marred by an existence of dark terror. If Soma were to guess, she might have thought that her baby would be laughing and cooing by this point in his young life. But Bi was silent, except for the occasional hiccup or cry. Even at his young age, he knew better than to draw attention to himself.

* * *

As the months dragged on, the boy grew bigger. His thick, dark hair grew longer. And Soma would weep without fail each time she nursed him in a dark corner. He suckled hungrily, clinging stubbornly to life, even though his life was, at times, nothing more than living death.

By the time he reached the age of six months, he would be crawling. Soma supposed she should have been happy for him, a proud mother. With dull eyes she watched him triumphantly practice this new milestone. He had his father's grace: his smooth movements made it look as though he had mastered the new skill months before, rather than mere days. Perhaps the Uchiha genes were all dominant ones, for the infant appeared to have inherited little, if anything, from Soma. Her muddy brown hair, with pale eyes like rainwater that collects in a puddle on a stormy day, contrasted starkly with Bi's hair and eyes, both as startlingly black as coal. She had always had a rosy hue to her skin, even while living underground. But Bi remained porcelain pale. He learned new things quickly; his mother took much longer. She had been told that she was full of chatter and laughter when she was small. But this infant boy rarely, if ever, made a sound.

At first, Kabuto gave them both regular check-ups. He massaged Soma's abdomen, digging his hand in till she shrieked in protest. Each time he came, he brought fresh rags for bedding. The old ones he would hold up to the dim light, squinting at them to assess the amount of blood they held, and whether there were any large clots. With a long strip of fabric with regularly-spaced markings on it, he measured around Bi's head, and from the top of his head to his heel. He put the baby onto one side of a balance of scales, much the same way as a fruit vendor in the market might do. All his data he marked onto sheets of parchment, burning the words in with the tip of his finger, which glowed by the light of a cold blue chakra. Once when Bi was struggling to eat, Kabuto remedied the problem. The newborn had been trying valiantly yet failing to extract milk from Soma's breasts, which were so engorged with milk that there was no way the babe could succeed in latching on to them. The young medic detached Bi from his mother's nipple with a sweep of his finger. Without emotion, he then pinched, squeezed and massaged her breasts till he coaxed out the backlog of milk. Bending her forward slightly, he allowed the breast milk to trickle into a tin cup. When he was finished, he told her flatly, "Feed the baby more often, so this won't happen again." She couldn't tell if it was a threat, but Kabuto didn't bother to say more. Taking the tin cup with him, he left.

But as the months wore on, check-ups came fewer and farther between. Soma and Bi saw little of Kabuto. Orochimaru still came every so often to remind them of their inescapable hopelessness. Once-and only once-the baby's father graced them with his sullen presence. Sasuke's sandals stopped in front of them. Soma could feel his searing gaze on them, but she refused to lift her eyes from his feet. Neither of them was worthy to meet the other's eyes. Lying on his back on a blanket on the stone, Baby Bi had stopped playing idly with his feet and beheld this strange visitor with such unblinking solemnity that Soma wondered if he understood more than they realized. She heard the slight intake of breath which meant that the snake spawn might be about to say something. Her own breath was bated. But after a pause, Sasuke continued walking and didn't deign to speak to them. They were not to see him again until their imprisonment was ended forever.

* * *

Whereas before the baby's birth, Kabuto had ensured that Soma receive the best care, now that Bi had emerged on the scene, it was he who was carefully monitored and well-attended to. Of course, since Soma was so intimately connected with the infant, this meant that she also received many benefits. One such advantage was that they were both still allowed to go outside. The fresh autumn air smelled crisp and glorious, in contrast with the musty, dank smell of their underground dwelling, mixed as it was with the repugnant smell of human excrement. As though it were a dream, Soma could remember a time when she cherished these moments, hungered for them. Now she behaved like a doe with its fawn, forever whipping her head around, wary of danger. What cruel fate waited to spring upon them at any moment? Bi alone appeared to take great joy in these outings. At least, he stared eagerly around, even laughing occasionally at the antics of the birds overhead. His eyes seemed to study the outline of every leaf in the canopy above them, and Soma wondered just how keen his vision was. She had heard rumors of the amazing eyesight and gifted ocular jutsu of the Uchiha clan. She supposed that her son could have very well inherited these traits. But gifted though her firstborn child may be, she banished such thoughts from her mind. If she could spare her precious baby the ninja way, and ensure that he never walked the path of a shinobi, then she would consider her maternal obligations complete.

* * *

Their bid for freedom came as Soma carried her baby through the meadow, barely noticing as he reached out his hand to try to brush the butterflies as they flew up around them. For some reason, something was happening elsewhere, and Kabuto, who had been monitoring them from afar, got called away. Before he left, though, he summoned Sasuke to his side. "Something came up. Watch the two of them for me till I return," he ordered Orochimaru's apprentice. And then he vanished in a puff of smoke. Glancing at Sasuke nervously, Soma could tell from the slow way he raised his eyebrow, that he considered such a job far beneath him. With a disdainful snort, he turned his back on them and walked away. Hardly daring to breathe, Soma turned away, too. Then, before she could think too hard about the consequences, she clasped her son harder against her chest and began to run. It had taken her a long time to recuperate postpartum. Indeed, she wasn't fully recovered. Often hungry, still pale, and suffering from a condition which Kabuto referred to as "anemia," she was not necessarily in any condition for marathon racing. But none of that mattered as desperation lent fuel to her stumbling footsteps, as she fought her way through the trees, farther and farther from the dungeon she had been forced to call home for the past four years.

She didn't notice that Sasuke's eyes were still on them, as he watched them go surreptitiously from over his shoulder.

* * *

Heaving for breath, Soma stopped in a copse and hesitated, taking in her bearings. She could hear the rush of water nearby. Pausing a moment, she recollected that sometimes when refugees were fleeing, they made a practice of walking for a distance through water, to throw their pursuers off their trail, before crossing over to the other side. Now it was her turn.

With little searching, she followed her ears till she reached a river. It was wide, and the water flowed quickly. When she stepped in, it was so cold that her feet burned. But she refused to allow any of those things to deter her. She began an arduous slog against the current-surely her captors wouldn't expect that? Bi seemed to enjoy the white noise of the water around them. He waved his hands idly as his mother continued onward, determined, desperate, and unbeknownst to her, dogged.

* * *

When her feet were so numb they felt like stones attached to her legs, Soma finally clambered onto the opposite shore. The lower hem of her ragged dress was sopping wet, and dripped onto the rocks that she struggled to navigate while holding an infant, slipping and occasionally almost turning her ankle beneath her. She made it to the top of the rise, feeling accomplished with herself. And almost...free.

And that was when she heard it. She would never be able to describe exactly what it was-maybe the slightest rustle, a footstep, the whoosh of breath from lungs. Maybe it was simply a feeling of eyes on her, of being chased.

For the hunted know when they are being hunted. And the familiar feeling of doom settled over her, as she sensed that her pursuer was closing in. Tense, undecided, she froze for a moment. Maternal instinct was fighting with maternal attachment. At length, maternal instinct won. She laid Bi down on a bed of leaves beneath the fork of the roots of a giant tree. "I'll...come back," she choked out her promise to her only child. Bi simply stared up at her with unblinking eyes, which had been as black as midnight since the day of his birth. Face twisted with emotion, she turned and ran from him before she could change her mind. Her breathing came faster and harder as she pushed herself to her limits, as though she might drive the guilt from her heart by taxing her body till it was completely spent. One foot caught itself against the other, and she started to fall.

-But just then Kabuto appeared in front of her. She half-crashed into him, half-fell into his arms. He merely stood, letting her catch her breath as her head spun. It might've seemed a tender gesture, but for the way his hands gripped her upper arms to the point of pain. Reflecting the sunlight, his lenses refused to betray what was going on behind them. But his brow furrowed above his glasses. She would not escape again.

"Where is the baby?" he demanded to know. When she stiffened and didn't reply, he reworded the question. Slowly, as though she were dim-witted, he asked, "Where is your son, Bi?" There could be no misunderstanding this time. But Soma still would not answer him. If he had to torture her in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of her baby, so be it. She would never betray the secret of where she had laid him. Better for him to be free while his mother returned to captivity worse than most animals face. Kabuto held her at arm's length and studied her face, taking in the the stubbornness of a mother determined to protect her offspring to the death. He gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated. But to her surprise, he did not press the matter. Nor did he attempt to wring the information he desired from her via torment. He took her hand and started walking back the way she'd come. "Very well," he told her coldly. "I don't know where you've hidden him, but you can keep your secrets. After all, given the choice between the babe of the kekkei genkai, and the source of such potential, Lord Orochimaru would prefer to retain the source. We can always impregnate you again. If little Bi succumbs to the elements, then he's simply a casualty of a nobler cause." His voice held on a patronizing note of sorrow, impossible to tell whether it was feigned or not. However, Soma barely heard him. Her thoughts were on her baby, alone under the tree. Was he crying? Was he hungry? Was he cold? Would he be all right? Would someone find him? Or would he...

As though reading her thoughts and jumping in at the cruelest possible moment, Kabuto spoke. "He's apart from you, and doesn't know where you are. He will await your return, but as your absence grows longer, he will cry out for you. Eventually, when you don't come, he will become inconsolable, convinced you will never return. Despairing, he will cry himself to sleep. Then, as the cold of the night creeps in, he will shiver till he awakens and screams for you again, but still you don't come. Crying is his sole means of communication, and so he will continue on until he stops-not by reason of self-soothing, but because he has grown weak with cold and hunger. Slowly, he will fade away..." He allowed her a moment's pause to take in his horrifying words. "Your baby will die lying in his own feces," he concluded tonelessly. Soma didn't know what his last word meant, but the rest of his monologue hadn't faild to leave an indelible impression upon her heart. Shaking with sobs but not allowing herself to make a sound, she pointed with a shaking finger. For they just happened to be walking right past the tree under which Bi lay. Smirking in self-satisfaction, Kabuto dragged her over to it. Bi gave a cry of happy recognition upon seeing his mother. When Kabuto scooped him up, he squirmed and grunted with distaste. But when the medic ninja deposited him into Soma's arms, he gurgled with contentment, and at least in his world, for the moment, all was well.

They were led back to Orochimaru's lair, the babe sleeping in the arms of his mother who still made no sound, although tears poured over her pale cheeks.

* * *

Half a year passed. Bi grew and achieved each of what Kabuto called "developmental milestones." "He's progressing quite well," Orochimaru's henchman declared, seemingly pleased. Scorning such a transitional state as crawling, Bi began pulling himself to a standing position, leaning against the cave walls for support. By nine months of age, he could walk. Soma watched as he toddled along. It almost brought her a smile-almost. The now-toddler cooed and babbled, and as he approached his first birthday, he could say "mama," "more," and "no." Then the day arrived: the one-year anniversary of Bi's birth. Soma considered it more of a doomsday than a cause for celebration. But Bi seemed quite happy with himself, stumbling around and waving his arms as though he knew he was special. There was no birthday party. But to the surprise of them both, they did receive a visitor. For only the second time in his life, Bi beheld his father. Sasuke came straight to them, almost as though he meant to. But how could such a thing be true? Soma drew Bi to her. Had Lord Orochimaru sent his apprentice to collect them, in lieu of Kabuto? What he said next seemed to confirm her fears.

"Give him to me." He extended his hand.

Soma clutched their son closer to her. "Never!" she snarled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "There's no time," he told her impatiently, as though it were obvious. "Give him to me."

Soma glared at him in open revulsion. Did he think that after everything that had been done to them, everything that she had seen of him, that she would calmly give her baby over to him without question? "I'd die first," she spat. Bi, though, seemed to have different ideas. He reached towards Sasuke as though eager for the young shinobi to take him into his arms. The snake's apprentice stared for a long moment at the baby he had been tricked into siring almost two years ago. His voice was quiet when he went on, "Orochimaru has gone away. Kabuto is...otherwise occupied. But it won't be that way for long." His eyes burned with intensity as he met Soma's. "Time is short. Give him to me." Still Soma wouldn't budge, staring at Sasuke in hatred and confusion. He let out a long sigh and finished, "If you wish to leave, then we must go now." Her mouth opened, then closed again without saying anything. But her son was not as speechless as she. He reached toward Sasuke again and let out a single syllable: "Da."

Sasuke's eyes flickered. Neither of the boy's parents would ever know if Bi meant to say what he did, or if it was merely a childish syllable of nonsense. But it fit the moment so perfectly, and Soma was so moved by her son's strange and implicit trust in this dangerous young man, that she found herself-almost in a daze-handing the babe over to his father. Sasuke wasted no time in grabbing the infant, and Soma's heart fluttered with fear when he turned his back on her. Was he going to kidnap Bi? Then Sasuke said without looking at her, "Get on." He pointed a thumb at his back. Haltingly, she climbed on and placed her hands over his shoulders for support. He held onto her legs, and suddenly they were running, leaping, riding the wind, with Sasuke as their wings, flying them to...freedom?

* * *

It could have been five minutes, or five hours. The wind whipped past them so fast that Soma's eyes streamed from the power of it, her hair flying disheveled around her face. All she could hear was the roar of it in her ears. The constant bumping of Sasuke's racing feet created a sensation like a runaway horseback ride from a nightmare. Every so often, he must have leaped and bounded like a deer: Soma would experience the disorienting feeling of soaring upward, and being jarred right, then left, in rapid succession. She kept her eyes tightly closed to protect them. If she hadn't, she would have seen thick woods, green meadows, and sharp cliffs whipping past. But Soma saw none of it. She was only aching to arrive at their destination, wherever that may be.

After five minutes (or five hours), the party of three came to a halt. Sasuke let the thirteen-year-old girl down off his back right away, clearly glad to be rid of his burden. He reached within his shirt where he had tucked the baby boy, and pulled him out. Bi looked as though he had been sleeping comfortably. Sasuke handed him to Soma without a word. She was so dazed from their journey, and so happy to finally be holding her child again, that at first she didn't notice Sasuke walking away from them. And when she finally looked up at his retreating silhouette, she gave a start of surprise when she saw where he was headed.

It was a village. Small, simple stone homes thatched with straw roofs clustered cozily around a main town square with a little well in the center. Peaceable, simple folk went about their tasks and errands. Every so often, one would call out a merry greeting along the way, or wave to a friend. Children-well cared for children-scampered through the streets. Were they actually playing? Soma wondered. Families bustled around getting their shopping done-families who weren't torn apart when their children were taken from them to wither away in an underground experimentation lab. And from the furthest corner of her mind, unbidden, came a sudden memory:

* * *

She hadn't listened to Mother, when she told Soma to remain close by, or to Father, who commanded her to stay out of the woods. No, she was a naughty and sneaked away when they were occupied trading their wares. She made her way into the heart of the forest. But her older brother somehow found her. He told her off for disobeying their parents. "Mom and Dad tell you not to run off for a reason," he reminded her. 'All by yourself out here, it could be..." His eyes suddenly got huge in his face. A shadowed figure dropped from above and landed in front of him. "...Dangerous," was all the boy had time to say, before a hand swiftly descended and connected with Bi's head, knocking him out cold. The figure turned towards Soma. Starting at the prone form of her brother, she didn't even think to flee, but stood petrified as the attacker approached her. He reached out for her and-that was where the memory ended.

She never saw that forest again.

* * *

"This is your birth village." Sasuke's voice broke into her tremulous thoughts. Through a haze that seemed to cast a film over her eyes, she turned to look at him. Opening her mouth and meaning to tell him that such a thing couldn't be true, she found herself unable to phrase the words. Because this place DID seem familiar. It reached back to memories she thought she'd forgotten, or buried long ago. She swallowed, licked her lips, and instead whispered, "How? How did you know?"

"Prisoners' data," grunted Sasuke. "Kabuto keeps all the records, down to the minutest detail-including where prisoners were taken from, if they weren't born into captivity."

Then Soma had a different question. She found it impossible to believe, even after all his assistance in helping them escape, that Orochimaru's apprentice was actually going to just let them walk away. "Why?" she wanted to know. "Why would you do this for us?" She wasn't deluded enough to believe that her existence meant anything to Sasuke, even though they had been tricked into birthing a child together, and were thus tied together for as long as that child left.

Almost as though able to read her thoughts, Sasuke answered quietly, "Our paths will never cross again. Now I have no more binding ties." His eyes lingered for a long moment on the baby in Soma's arms. Was it her imagination that Bi's eyes flickered briefly from black to red? Or was it that Sasuke's eyes were the ones changing color, and it was the reflection that she saw in his son's eyes? She would never know. And it didn't matter. Sasuke raised his dark eyes to meet hers. Soma's were unlike his in color, yet very similar in a different way: both held wellsprings of living nightmares, shared in memories which would haunt them till the day of their deaths.

Without a word, mother and father turned their backs on one another and went their separate ways. Soma descended the dell into the village, a place which knew not the Way of Shinobi. Her son would be safe here, she was sure-safe from ninja attacks, and safe from ever becoming like them.

She set out down the main street, in search of the parents she hadn't seen for five years.

She had a grandson to introduce to them.

**= The End =**


End file.
